For 33 years families from Singleton and surrounding areas experiencing life challenges – from domestic violence to anxiety in young people – have been coming to Singleton Family Support for therapeutic counselling, family capacity building, education and wellbeing programs.

Situated on the banks of the Hunter River, Singleton is in NSW, some 197 kilometres north-north-west of Sydney. A major coal mining centre, the rural region has limited public transport options, a transient and often isolated population linked to the mining industry and limited support services.

Supporting this community, Singleton Family Support Services has a passionate, capable and qualified team of professional workers. Together, they offer support to more than 50 families in a one-to-one setting and approximately 30 individuals in a group setting at any given time.

Since the COVID pandemic and critically in the last few months as restrictions have eased, the Service has been inundated with referrals from individuals, families and other service providers. Over the last six months, referrals have increased more than 50% on the same time the previous year. The Service’s ability to refer onto other professionals, such as GPs, Psychologists, Housing services and Mental health providers, has also been impacted, with many professionals’ books closed and long waiting lists. This has placed a significant strain on the Singleton Family Support’s ability to respond to each referral appropriately. While there are many issues and people needing support, the Service is particularly concerned about the mental health of young people. COVID created a pandemic of anxiety and uncertainty with this group. There are no youth-specific mental health services in Singleton.

A $49,500 COVID Regional Community Support Program grant, funded by Resilience NSW, will allow the service to increase staff time. This equates to 80 additional referrals to Family Works, including 10 additional counselling places for youth. An additional six support groups can be offered to the community and it means further support for the organisation’s wellbeing programs. The funding reduces the pressure on the organisation. For families, this will mean timely assessments of the family’s needs, earlier interventions, greater access to counselling, educational programs and support groups, building awareness in parenting theories, domestic and family violence and mental health. This will all lead to increased family capacity to build resilience and safety for children and families.

Twenty-seven community-led groups in remote, rural and regional NSW will share in $912,505 awarded through the Resilience NSW COVID Regional Community Support (CRCS) program.

Funded by the NSW Government and administered by the Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal (FRRR), the grants were allocated to grassroots community groups and not-for-profit organisations that helped their communities navigate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

NSW Minister for Emergency Services and Resilience and Minister for Flood Recovery Steph Cooke said the funding stream would help these groups build resilience and better mitigate the impact of pandemics and other disasters across their communities.

“We awarded between $3,363 and $50,000 to organisations, to support a wide range of regional capacity building initiatives to help enhance community wellbeing, create stronger local economies, and enable a greater ability to respond to future challenges,” Ms Cooke said.

“The pandemic has posed plenty of difficulties for people and families in remote and regional areas over the past two years, and community-led organisations played an important role in navigating those challenges.”

Ms Cooke said some of the common requests from community groups involved facility improvements, food security and assisting with the increased demand on local services in flood-devastated areas such as the Northern Rivers.

“We’ve been able to address some of these needs through this funding stream, to ensure these groups and the communities they work with are in better stead for the future.”

Some of the 27 funded projects include:

• Agape Outreach Inc in Tweed Heads to improve staff and volunteer resilience and increase capacity to support the community through mental health and wellbeing training – $36,600.
• Forster Neighbourhood Centre Inc in Forster to promote organisational capacity and support local access to essential services by contributing to the fit-out of the new Forster Neighbourhood Centre – $50,000.
• Gunnedah Meals on Wheels Association in Gunnedah to improve the capacity of Gunnedah Meals on Wheels to support vulnerable community members through a hamper program and the purchase of a large deep freezer – $8,150.
• LeaderLife Ltd in Dubbo to grow organisational resilience and support skills development in local youth through a new syntropic farming system – $50,000.
• Sustainable Agriculture and Gardening Eurobodalla in Moruya to increase organisational capacity and promote food security in the Eurobodalla Shire through the hiring of a Business Manager – $50,000.

Natalie Egleton, CEO of FRRR, said the grants acknowledge and will strengthen the capacity of regional organisations in NSW who played such a critical role in supporting communities throughout COVID-19 challenges. 

“The impact of the pandemic has been significant and is still being felt,” Ms Egleton said. “The flexibility of this program recognised that every community is different and requires tailored support and funding to ensure that they can continue to provide vital services, bring people and community organisations together and enable locally-led responses as and when required.

“Being able to support the many community organisations and not-for-profits who have gone above and beyond for their communities during such difficult times and enable them to be better prepared in the future is important to the ongoing sustainability and vibrancy of these communities.”

A complete list of the projects supported is below.

The NSW / VIC border towns of Albury / Wodonga and surrounds were severely impacted by the cross-border lockdowns during COVID restrictions. THose who live in these adjacent communities consider them one town, yet community members were unable to cross the border unless there was an extenuating circumstance. That meant families were unable to support isolated elderly family members and those living in challenging conditions, and this was exacerbated by the devastating effects of the Black Saturday bushfires which also affected the community.

The COVID Regional Community Support program, which was funded by the New South Wales Government and delivered by FRRR, was designed to support community groups and associated volunteers that incurred expenses in delivering food and personal care items to individuals and families affected by COVID lockdowns, by contributing funds to support ongoing service provision.

One such organisation to benefit from this program with a reimbursement grant of $13,500 was Albury Wodonga Regional FoodShare, who has supported those in need in their community since 2011, and their response to the COVID-19 pandemic was remarkable.

FoodShare commenced their Community Pantry program in 2020, which enabled food hampers to be delivered directly to members of the community. To alleviate some of the hardship experienced by families in the region due to the long-term impacts of COVID and cross-border lockdowns, they also coordinated two local pop-up hamper drive-throughs in September 2021, which provided 300 families with emergency food relief.

During the peak of the COVID outbreak, 1,200 food hampers, including culturally appropriate ingredients, were distributed locally across the region. More than half of these were delivered directly to local homes as part of a coordinated COVID emergency relief effort.

To facilitate the immediate increase in demand for FoodShare’s services, operations were extended to seven days a week. This put a strain on resources, particularly on volunteers, but was necessary to keep the community safe. On average, 30 households received hampers each day, and in many instances, this doubled on occasions during the peak of the local COVID outbreak.

To provide specialised support for culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities, FoodShare was supported by local organisations such as Albury-Wodonga Ethnic Communities Council (AWECC) and Murray Valley Sanctuary Refugee Group. These agencies took enquiries from CALD households who were in isolation due to the COVID outbreak. These agencies also assisted by nominating culturally specific ingredients and in some instances. their volunteers purchased additional food items and delivered these to the CALD households.

In addition to delivering hampers to local residents, FoodShare was also asked to deliver food and personal care hampers to various locations where people had been forced to isolate in accordance with Health Orders, including Rutherglen Hotels, Howlong and the Albury Caravan Park. Over 4,500 kilometres were logged from October to December last year on just one of the FoodShare vans, which was dedicated to supporting COVID operations. To support the heightened increase in demand, an additional van was also hired in November to support delivering hampers to COVID households.

This is a wonderful example of the critical role that so many local NFPs played, and the way in which they collaborated with other groups to support their community. FRRR is pleased to have been able to support this program and help the NSW Government to reimburse FoodShare for some of the costs incurred in supporting their community.

Thirty-four local groups and not-for-profits that delivered food and care hampers to regional communities during the height of the 2021 COVID-19 restrictions will share in $300,000 from the NSW Government’s COVID Regional Community Support (CRCS) program.

Minister for Emergency Services and Resilience and Minister for Flood Recovery Steph Cooke said more than 72,000 hampers were delivered to residents in regional and rural parts of NSW, including Ballina, Tweed Heads, Leeton and Albury.

“These groups and organisations dropped everything and dipped into their own funds to support isolated residents during last year’s COVID-19 restrictions by partnering with Resilience NSW to prepare and deliver food, essential items and relief packs to those in need,” Ms Cooke said.

“The $300,000 will cover expenses like fuel, couriers, and logistics costs, helping these groups and organisations to continue their wonderful work into the future, including at the Ballina Hot Meal Centre which is using its $5,024 grant to purchase new freezers.”

Each grant being provided through the CRCS program ranges from $1,000 to $30,000 and is administered by the Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal.

Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal CEO Natalie Egleton said the funding recognises the critical role that local community groups played during the pandemic.

“We’re delighted that 23 per cent of applications are from Indigenous community groups, all of which played such a vital role in ensuring that their community members were cared for, and we are pleased to be able to support them with this funding,” Ms Egleton said.

Applications are currently being accepted for grants of up to $50,000 for capacity building initiatives, such as attracting and retaining volunteers and staff, enhancing governance skills, building digital capacity and creating partnerships that foster stronger, more resilient communities.

See the full list of recipients below:

Local community groups and not-for profit organisations in remote, rural and regional NSW are being offered grants to boost preparedness for future pandemics and other disasters.

Minister for Emergency Services and Resilience and Minister for Flood Recovery Steph Cooke said the program, funded by the NSW Government, was established to strengthen groups that have played a critical role in supporting communities throughout COVID-19.

“These grants are being offered through the Resilience NSW COVID Regional Community Support (CRCS) program and are administered by the Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal (FRRR),” Ms Cooke said.

“Grants of up to $50,000 will be awarded toward regional capacity building initiatives such as those that attract and retain volunteers and staff, train to enhance governance skills, build digital capacity and create partnerships that foster stronger, more resilient communities.”

Natalie Egleton, CEO of FRRR, said that regional organisations in NSW have gone above and beyond for their communities during the pandemic, especially when for many it was also on top of floods, fires and the mouse plague.

“Remote, rural and regional community groups and not-for-profits really stepped up in what were extraordinary times. We take our hats off to them for how they have persevered, especially in the face of so many challenges.

“The findings of our Heartbeat of Rural Australia study last year highlighted that many community groups were really fatigued and able to operate at only a fraction of their usual capacity. They were struggling to find volunteers and staff, and while many groups turned online, the digital divide that exists between urban areas and regional areas became really apparent, as did several other capacity constraints.

“This program has been designed in partnership with the NSW Government to enable community groups to address these issues and fill the gaps that became more evident during the pandemic. We know that every community is different, so it’s deliberately flexible and will support community groups to be better prepared in future,” Ms Egleton said.

To find out what can be funded through the capacity building stream, and to apply, visit https://frrr.org.au/ResNSW-Covid-Support.

Applications close 5pm AEST on Friday 29 April 2022.

Local groups and not-for-profit organisations that delivered food and care hampers to community members across regional NSW during the 2021 COVID lockdowns can now apply to recoup up to $30,000 of their distribution costs. Reimbursed funds will be available in late April 2022.

The Resilience NSW COVID Regional Community Support (CRCS) program will be funded by the NSW Government and administered by the Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal (FRRR).

Eligible hampers for the program are those delivered to people who were directed by Health orders to stay in isolation, and had no other means to access food or personal care items themselves.

Minister for Emergency Services and Resilience Steph Cooke said the NSW Government was committed to supporting community groups and not-for-profits in their important work.

“We know that many community groups had to dip into their own funds to distribute hampers and relief packs to people who needed extra support during the lockdowns,” said Ms Cooke.

“This funding opportunity will cover expenses like fuel, couriers, and logistics costs, helping them to continue their wonderful work into the future.”

Resilience NSW Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons recognized the contributions that had been made to support communities impacted by COVID-19.

“These groups deserve our gratitude for all they have done to support their fellow community members in regional parts of the state,” said Mr Fitzsimmons.

“This program, which is being run by FRRR on behalf of Resilience NSW, will allow eligible organisations to be reimbursed up to $30,000.”

Natalie Egleton, CEO of FRRR, said that regional community groups across NSW have worked hard to support their communities through COVID, despite themselves facing funding and operational challenges.

“Rural not-for-profits’ resources are stretched incredibly thin, and for many groups, the costs of distributing these hampers came out of their own pockets, so getting money back into their kitty is vital,” said Ms Egleton.

“We have worked closely with Resilience NSW to ensure that the reimbursement application process is straight-forward but if you have any questions just give us a call on 1800 170 020 and our team will be happy to talk you through it.”

A second stream of this program will open in March. The Capacity Building Stream is designed to help strengthen local community groups and not-for-profits in regional areas, so that they are better able to continue supporting their communities through COVID and future crises.

To find out what can be funded through the Reimbursement Stream, and to apply, visit https://frrr.org.au/ResNSW-Covid-Support.

Applications close 5pm AEDT on Tuesday 8 March 2022.